Centrifugal pumps are used in a variety of industries to process and transport fluids. The type and configuration of centrifugal pumps vary widely, but are typically comprised of a pump casing having an inlet for receiving a fluid into the pump, a discharge outlet for transporting fluid away from the pump casing, and at least one impeller for drawing fluid into the pump and moving the fluid to a pumping chamber that is in fluid communication with the discharge outlet.
The configuration and arrangement of the basic elements of centrifugal pumps are determined or influenced in part by the type of fluids that are being processed. For example, processing slurries, or liquids that contain solids, requires a different type of pump configuration as compared to pumps used for processing clear liquids, or those which contain little or no solids. In general, centrifugal slurry pumps may generally be larger in size than centrifugal pumps used for processing clear liquids. Also, the area where the centrifugal pump is installed may influence the dimensions and configuration of the pump. For example, the size of an industrial plant, the size of a truck bed or skid and constraints on piping configurations may influence the size, type or configuration of pump that may be employed in the particular space of the plant.
In operation at an industrial site, it may become necessary or desirable to process a different type of fluid than had previously been processed at the site, and a repurposing of an existing industrial site may require the use of different centrifugal pumps than had previously been used at that site. Therefore, the need or desire may arise for replacing the existing or previously-used pumps with a new type of pump, such as replacing the clear fluid process pumps with slurry pumps.
The replacement of one type of pump for a different type of pump is difficult, however, because the piping to which the pumps are connected to provide a flow pathway for the processed fluids is not easily reconfigured. Attempting to reconfigure the piping network to accommodate a new type or configuration of a pump may be very costly and time consuming. More importantly, pump efficiencies may be sacrificed in an effort to repurpose the plant by employing a new type of pump. Therefore, attention must be paid to providing a pump configuration that will enable substitution of the new pump for the old pump without losing pumping efficiencies.